Bonds of Betrayal by J. L. Cross

Author:J. L. Cross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Shifter, Romance, Action, Dark Fantasy, Epic
Publisher: J. L. Cross
Published: 2022-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

14 Yurdell

I left the castle quickly after the encounter with the King. I had gotten too confident that I maintained control over the situation. I didn’t expect the King to know that I was using venom against the delicate princess, nor did I expect him to invite me to the palace for a meal, only to confront me with the knowledge. Inara saved the skin on my neck, literally, by staying the King’s hand. I wouldn’t have long before I was confronted legally in front of the Collective. I made the wound discrete. I knew Inara was looking for it, inspecting her for it to know it was there. He needed a way to turn the King in his favor, it interrupted the love his daughter was finding. I was betrayed by who I thought was my ally. The very man Vlad would have us trust, but even Inara put himself before Vlad’s plan. He was willing to disrupt it only because he didn’t want to see Kastell with another man, ploy or no ploy.

I passed through the gate and went to the tavern. I wiped the back of my arm across my neck to get rid of the blood dripping from the healing wound. I needed to feed. The anger and the desperate need to feel control again was making me uncontrollably hungry. The streets were busy tonight during such a cloudy night. It was strange, but the lively atmosphere guaranteed I would be able to catch a meal if I needed to. I would first call those I had infected, bringing them to me with only the sound in their ears and minds.

The tavern was busy, flowing over the brim of the door with locals. My Arvor contact was playing a daring game of chance with dice surrounded by gamblers. His opponent was slowly catching him in the race to victory. A pile of coins in the center of the table was growing. I tugged on the arm of his cloak to catch his attention. He gave me a lighthearted smile, only weavering a heartbeat when he recognized me.

“Excuse me gentleman; duty calls.” He took three coins from the center. The men went into an uproar of protests as he walked away from the game. He threw an arm over my shoulder as we shuffled our way out of the crammed tavern. I could smell the heavy scent of cherry alcohol spilling from his breath over my face. His red hair was disheveled, and his beard had wet droplets of either sweat or beer clinging to the ends of its roughness.

I dragged him out into the street and threw him in the dirt. “You’re a disgrace.” I said and kicked him. “What’re you doing here? You haven’t paid your dues, Aluxious; if you want, I can put the Aylish guards onto your trail, and we both know how much you hate running from those bastards.”

“Give it a rest, Yuri.” He placed the three coins into my outstretched hand. “I always pay.

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